The invention relates to processing of electronic content information, and specifically to sending an email with portions of content information selected from a previous email or from another electronic document such as a Web page.
As an example of electronic documents, consider an email system. Email enables users to exchange computer messages via a data network such as the public Internet and the private AOL. The email protocol is a component of the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). All online services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer email, and most of them also support gateways for exchanging mail with users of other systems. Email messages typically comprise text, and can have text, graphics, video, sound files, web pages, etc., as attachments to or embedded within the email body.
As another example of electronic documents, consider Web pages. A browser enables the user to access the information available on the World Wide Web. Typically, this information comprises HTML codes that via the browser control how the information, i.e., the Web page, is being displayed for the user.
The inventor addresses the user-friendliness of handling electronic documents, especially on handheld devices. For example, emails received may need to be stored, or forwarded to another person, but only portions thereof are considered relevant or interesting enough to be stored or forwarded. As another example, web pages are frequently downloaded and stored locally at the user""s PC for reading later on. The user may want to annotate the page before storage, or store only certain portions or forward the page to another person with annotations or indications.
To this end, the invention provides a software application for enabling a user to operate on an electronic document, e.g., an email received or a Web page. The application enables the user in a foreground process to select a portion of information content of the document. The application prepares in a background process a new electronic document, e.g., a new email or an HTML document, based on the selected portion, and enables the user in a foreground process to specify a processing of the new document, e.g., forwarding in an email, storing locally, etc. The application then processes the new document in a background process as specified by the user.
For example, the electronic document on which the user wants to operate comprises a Web page. The user identifies graphically the interesting portions of this document, e.g., through a highlighting feature. The new electronic document generated in the background comprises a copy of this Web page with the selected portion or portions identified through highlighting. The user may then specify to sending the Web page with the highlighted portions in an email message. The selected portion is distinguished in the Web page when rendered upon receipt of the email message by the addressee. Preferably, the user is enabled to add an annotation to the selected portion. The annotation is rendered at the addressee""s receiver when a pointer is positioned over the selected portion in the rendered Web page.
As to using the invention within an email context, partial transferring of an email is relevant on mobile phones or palmtop PCs with email capabilities. The invention enables creating and sending a pruned email, in a background process, without forwarding the entire original email.
As to partially forwarding or storing an image, image editor software lets the user select a portion of the image and have the portion stored or sent following a similar processe as sending part of a text as mentioned above. In order to send that portion of a given image the email system opens a new email in a background process, saves the specified portion of the image in a temp file (which is similar to changing an attachment in known commercial email systems), and attaches the file to a new email and sends it to the addressee.
With regard to Web pages, currently available email systems within browsers give the users the option to send either the URL of a site or the whole page as an attachment. In the invention, the email program enables the user to select a portion of the rendered web page, e.g., through highlighting, and the highlighted part gets added to the email. Alternatively, the pointer coordinates of the start and finish of the highlighted portion, typically a rectangle, get added to the email to be sent, together with the URL of the Web page. In the receiver email system, the email opens with retrieving the Web Page, as indicated by the URL, from the Internet and re-creates the highlighting based on the pointer coordinates sent along.
Preferably, the user is enabled to add an annotation to the Web page as stored or forwarded with the selected portions. For example, a software module is provided that comprises an authoring tool with a functionality similar to the one for creating xe2x80x9chelpxe2x80x9d labels in PC applications. A xe2x80x9chelpxe2x80x9d label in the form of a small cream rectangle, pops up on the screen when the user positions the pointer over an annotated item. In a Netscape browser, for example, positioning the pointer within the area of certain icons and images in an HTML document triggers the appearance of these cream rectangles with texts. Positioning the pointer over the xe2x80x9cReloadxe2x80x9d icon causes a rectangle to appear with the text xe2x80x9creload this page from the serverxe2x80x9d. Positioning the pointer over an image in a CNN web page causes the text to appear that briefly describes the associated image in keywords. This authoring tool can be merged with, or linked to, the software application in the invention for storing and forwarding annotated HTML files.
With regard to sound files, it is also possible to add a simple feature to the current play-out software to enable the user to select a portion of a sound file. For example, the progress of the play-out of a file is typically represented graphically by a colored bar that gets longer with the play-out time. Alternatively, a-clock-like counter indicates numerically the moment in time associated with the currently played out sound data, e.g., since the playing out of the file from its begin. Selecting begin and end positions of the portion the user intends to send in an email can be achieved graphically by choosing two positions on the progress bar, or by selecting the associated moments of play-out time. These pointers determine the part of the file to be attached to the email to be sent.
Accordingly, the inventor proposes to enhance email programs and browsers with a functionality to label or tag portions of an electronic document, e.g., by highlighting for automatically having, the labeled or tagged portions further processed, e.g., stored or forwarded. The selective forwarding or storage requires only a few user-interactions and the processing takes place largely as a background process. The invention is particularly of interest to mobile communication devices such as mobile phones or PDA""s with wireless modems. These devices have necessarily small screen real estate that preferably is being used efficiently for information exchange. Selecting relevant portions of a text in an authoring mode of such device or receiving a text reduced to only what is relevant increases user-friendliness of these devices.
Note that the invention is especially useful in email chats that typically comprise long strings of messages in response upon response.
With respect to a handheld with a wireless modem, see, e.g., U.S. Ser. No. 09/427,821 filed Oct. 27, 1999 for Joost Kemink and Rik Sagar for PDA HAS WIRELESS MODEM FOR REMOTE CONTROL VIA THE INTERNET. This document relates to a handheld data processing device, e.g., a PDA, (Personal Digital Assistant) with a user-interface and a wireless modem coupled to the handheld. The wireless modem enables communication with a server via a data network such as the Internet. A control network is coupled between the server and controllable equipment. The handheld is now capable of functioning as a wireless remote control device for the equipment via the Internet and the server. The system may comprise a video camera together with hardware and software to create a formatted still image suitable for being displayed on the handheld device. The user can now instruct retrieval of a still image from the server via the Internet. This application serves as, e.g., a security system that enables the remote user to monitor his/her front porch, or to monitor a child by way of a remote (or fall-back) baby-sit. The user-accessibility of equipment is guaranteed by the ubiquity of the Internet, thus enabling to expand the range of control and monitoring capabilities for a mobile user.